Federal Disability Retirement: Can I get disability retirement with a mental health condition?

December 22, 2009
By
The Law Offices of Eric L. Pines, PLLC

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Before discussing this question, I want to say that no federal disability
retirement lawyer can tell you if any one condition will get you accepted
for disability retirement. The key element of a disability retirement
case is its connection to your ability to perform the essential functions
of your current position.

Having said that, mental health conditions can (and do) form the basis
for successful disability retirement applications. There are some hurdles
to overcome, but here are just a few examples of how mental health conditions
have been tied to successful applications for disability retirement:

1) Bipolar Disorder. This particular federal employee suffered for bipolar
disorder for several years. The condition resisted treatment and therapy
over those years. The applicant’s doctor stated that the condition
manifests itself by extreme outbursts of rage and anger as well as an
inability to get along with co-workers or supervisors on any sustained
basis. An MSPB Administrative Judge found this sufficient for showing
that the appellant’s medical condition prevented her from accomplishing
the essential functions of her job.

2) Major Depressive Disorder/Depression. These are more difficult cases
because, by their very nature, the symptoms tend to ebb and flow. Moreover,
of all the mental health conditions, there is significant institutional
discrimination against those with depression or MDD. I heard one fairly
educated manager with a DoD Agency testify about accommodating an employee
with MDD, that his own sister pulled herself up by her bootstraps, fixed
her depression, and doggone it, so could this employee. Moreover, a person
with MDD can be fully functional one day, and the next be unable to leave
the house. Care must be taken to show the whole impact of this condition,
and to drive OPM and MSPB focus away from isolated periods of time and
look at the duration and treatment of the whole condition. OPM denials
and reconsideration decisions tend to refer to Major Depressive Disorder
as “in remission”. MSPB Administrative Judges frequently gloss
over evidence that the condition can be recurrent, and frequently find
that the Appellant has “treatment or medication options” still
available, or that a Major Depressive “condition” has not
lasted a year.

3) Anxiety disorders. In a case where a Federal employee, responsible for
dispensing medicine to patients, showed that her “generalized anxiety
disorder” led to an inability to concentrate and deal with others
in the workplace, she was granted disability retirement when the MSPB
concluded that the condition could lead to an inability to perform the
functions of her position (for example, potential for errors in providing
medication to patients.)

4) Borderline Personality Disorder. BPD, a particularly debilitating condition
that is characterized by instability of relationships, mood and identity;
impulsivity; anger; frantic efforts to avoid abandonment; and alternation
between idealization and denigration of others, can form the basis of
a disability retirement application.

5) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): PTSD is gaining ground in terms
of overcoming the general social prejudice against mental health conditions.
Over the past few years, I have seen reactions by management to PTSD conditions
to become less and less stereotyped, narrow-minded, and juvenile. My concern
is that this is a byproduct of the war in Iraq, and the sheer number of
veterans returning with the condition and the attention it is getting
in the media. If so, then PTSD acceptance in mainstream society as a “real”
medical condition will for some time be connected with the need for a
socially acceptable traumatic triggering event. I fear that soldiers with
PTSD in civil service will be more widely accepted than child-rape victims
in the civil service workplace, who will be more widely accepted than
victims of discrimination who suffer from PTSD. Nevertheless, a Federal
Employee’s job-related PTSD, coupled with symptoms that severely
impaired an ability to concentrate or engage in critical thinking and
planning, can frequently lead to a grant of benefits for federal disability
retirement.

There are many, many more examples of how mental health conditions can
– and have – led to a grant of Federal disability retirement
benefits. There are some significant prejudices involved with mental health
conditions that you will have to overcome, (both before the MSPB and at
OPM) which will be discussed in later posts.

Of course, there are many more rules that may apply to your unique set
of facts. No post on this website is legal advice, is meant to be legal
advice, and certainly does not serve as a substitute for legal advice.
Information is power, and we are providing this information to give you,
the federal employee, with some power. This information is not widely
or easily accessible to Federal Employees.

The Law Office of Eric Pines represents Federal employees under FERS or
CSRS in their applications for federal disability retirement to OPM. If
an application for federal disability retirement is denied, the Firm represents
Federal employees under both FERS and CSRS in their MSPB appeals of denials
of federal disability retirement applications by OPM.

It is best to consult with a lawyer familiar with Merit Systems Protection
Board (MSPB) and disability retirement appeals to discuss the facts and
law of your particular case. If you have questions about federal disability
retirement under FERS or CSRS, or OPM’s denial of your applications
for federal disability retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS, contact
an MSPB attorney at the Law Office of Eric Pines to schedule a telephone
consultation.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.